Exhibits Case Studies

Madison Children's Museum

100 North Hamilton Street
Madison, WI 53703
http://www.madisonchildrensmuseum.org

Brenda Baker (contact)
bbaker@madisonchildrensmuseum.org

Exhibit Title: Urb Garden
Web Link to exhibit: http://madisonchildrensmuseum.org/exhibits/urb-garden/
Project Budget:
Exhibit Square Footage:
Cost per square foot:

Urb Garden

This outdoor deck is a three-season wonderland for our youngest visitors. Little ones can learn about sustainability by observing aquaponics in the tilapia tank, watching worms turn food waste into rich compost, seeing how mushrooms grow, and playing in our custom greenhouse-treehouse. The Urb Garden creates a replicable model for Madison residents without a lot of space to grow food. It seeks to cultivate healthy food habits by showing kids the path from garden to table. It conveys the idea that even small spaces in a dense urban environment offer myriad opportunities to connect young children with nature. And as kids have fun climbing through the deck space, they also are exposed to connected learning that will help them build strong food foundations and healthy eating habits. 

Aquaponics

Distinguishing green features:

  • Kids build strong food foundations through planting, growing, harvesting, and composting.
  • Visitors can expect to watch worms turn food waste into rich compost, plant a seedling in a greenhouse-treehouse, monitor local weather conditions, watch mushrooms grow in a secret “under-garden”, observe the wild animals that share our downtown environment, and visit with celebrity critters on loan from the museum’s Rooftop Ramble.
  • Houses kid-sized discovery tools in the Observation and Weather Stations to deepen observation and introduce new perspectives that challenge young children to consider their surroundings.
  • Vertical gardens and window box gardens offer a host of creative ideas for transforming a small, urban environment into an efficient, green space to grow great food and enjoy the wonders of nature.
  • Weekly activities that integrate the seasons give children tangible interactions with nature that can help them acquire a love for the Earth and a desire to make a lighter impact on its resources.

For more information regarding sustainable materials, visit the Build section of GreenExhibits website.

Chickens

Further Reading:

Greenhouse

Pouring Table

Vermicompost

Whole Deck